Fabric covered button



Sept. 6, 1955 1 zELENAY FABRIC COVERED BUTTON Filed June 29, 1953 aow/6*Zfzew/Qff,

INI/EN TOR.

@Uvex/EMS' United States Patent O FABRIC COVERED BUTTON Ludwig Zelenay,Culver City, Calif.

Application June 29, 1953, Serial No. 364,533 1 Claim.y (Cl. 24-113)This invention relates to a fabric covered button, to devices enablingbuttons to be easily produced that have fabric coverings, and may beregarded as an improvement over the construction disclosed in myapplication Serial No. 230,943, led I une 11, 1951, now United StatesPatent No. 2,649,634, issued August 25, 1953.

Explanatory of the present invention, there are many instances inarticles of clothing Where it is desirable to have buttons covered witha fabric. Such fabric may be of the same fabric as that of which thearticle of clothing is formed and to which the button is to beultimately applied. In other instances, the fabric applied to the buttonmay be of a decidedly contrasting type of fabric.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improvedconstruction which will greatly facilitate the application of a fabriccovering to an element of the button and facilitate the assemblytherewith of other parts which will firmly hold the covering in appliedposition, which will enable the attachment of the button to an articleof clothing, and which will resist forces that tend to separate theassembled button.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be mademanifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointedout in the appended claim, reference is had to the accompanying drawingsfor an illustrative embodiment of the invention, where:

Figure 1 is an exploded view in perspective of parts of the improvedbutton illustrating their manner of assembly;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, parts being broken away and shown insection, illustrating the improved button as having been partiallyassembled;

Fig. 3 is a partial view in vertical section, illustrating the elementsof the button in assembled relationship and showing the position assumedby the flanges on the backing plate; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 but showing the position assumed bythe flanges on the backing plate when forces are applied to the backingplate that tend to separate the assembled button.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein similar referencecharacters designate similar parts throughout, the improved buttonconsists of a concavo-convex outer support of generally the size andshape of the finished button. This outer support is preferably formed ofsheet metal and has at its margins relatively narrow side walls 11 whichterminate at an internal annular flange 12 that is relatively narrow inwidth. This flange cooperates with the body portions of the support 10to deiine an internal annular recess 13 on the concave side of thesupport of suliicient width to partially receive a split springexpanding ring 14. The expansion ring 14 is split at one side only, seeFig. 1, and its ends are preferably rebated as indicated at 15 and 16 sothat there may be a substantial overlapping of the ends without anincrease in thickness where the overlap occurs.

In conjunction with the parts above described, there is a backing plate17, the center of which may be domed as at 18 and apertured as at 19 toprovide sewing holes through which thread may be passed in sewing thebutton onto a garment. The backing plate 17 is likewise preferablyformed of sheet metal and is equipped with U-shaped, hinge-like member,broadly designated by 20, one leg 21 of which projects upwardly asviewed in the accompanying figures to present an annular projection onthe backing plate 17. The hinge member 20 is inclined from the verticaland the bight 22 thereof bears against the fabric C which causes thelatter to bear against the flange 12 when the button is assembled.Depending from leg 23 of hinge 20 are spaced, resilient, L-shapedflanges 24 that in cooperation with the hinge member 20 partiallyembrace the ring 14. The free end of the short leg 25 of L-shaped flange24, which is inclined toward hinge 20, lies in substantially the sameplane as the bight of hinge member 20 when forces are applied to thebacking plate 17 that tend to separate the assembled button, as may beseen in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The diameter of the hingelike member 20and L-shaped lianges 24 are such that they and the backing plate 17 canbe forced or snapped through the expansion ring 14 when the expansionring is within the concave side of the support 10. The L-shaped flanges24 in being forced through the expansion ring 14 expand outwardly andserve to lock the parts in assembled relationship as shown in Fig. 3.The L-shaped anges 24 in this position serve to hold the expansion ring14 against contraction or collapse.

The support or face plate 10, the expansion ring 14, and the backingplate 17 are normally supplied to the user who desires to equip agarment with covered buttons. In preparing a covered button employingthese parts a patch of fabric or cloth C of adequate size and shape tomore than cover the convex face of the support 1l) is applied to theconvex face. The edges of this fabric are drawn together so as to causethe fabric to smoothly cover the face of the support and are then passedthrough the expansion ring 14. While the fabric is held in a tautcondition with the edges extending through the ring 14 the ring isforced downwardly into the concave side of the support. In so doing, thering is collapsed or contracted slightly on passing through the coveredannular flange 12. When the ring occupies a position opposite the recess13 it is released and permitted to expand under its own inherentresiliency. The expansion of the ring against the fabric C causes thefabric to be held thereby in a taut condition, covering the face of thesupport 10. The excess portions of the fabric can then be trimmed offalthough adequate margins should be left on which the expansion ring 14can be effective.

When the parts have been thus assembled somewhat as depicted in thelower portion of Fig. 2, the backing plate 17 may then be assembled.This is accomplished by merely forcing the L-shaped iianges 24 throughthe expansion ring so that ultimately the parts assume the position asshown in Fig. 3, wherein the expansion ring is held by the L-shapedflanges 24 in its expanded condition, holding the fabric C appliedaround the support 10. The L- shaped flanges 24 as they spring outwardlybeneath the expansion ring, serves to hold the backing plate againstwithdrawal from the expansion. Forces applied to the backing plate 17that tend to separate the assembled button causes leg 23 of theU-shaped, hinge-like member 20 to expa'nd outwardly toward the splitring 14, resulting in a greater force being exerted thereagainst andtherebeneath by L-shaped flanges 24. Such a force causes expansion ring14 to be urged toward the internal side of ange 12 which resists theforces applied to backing plate 17, as may be seen in Fig. 4 of thedrawings.

From the above-described construction it will be appreciated that theface plates or support members for buttons embodying the presentinvention can be easily produced by forming sheet metal stampings. Theexpansion rings are likewise capable of being economically formed andthe backing plates can also be produced from forming sheet metalstampings. In this manner the improved button can be very economicallymanufactured.

The design is such that the parts may be easily and quickly assembledtogether and when the covering has been properly applied it will befound to be very effectively retained in a smooth, taut condition overthe convex face of the face plate 10.

Various changes may be made in the details of con struction withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claim.

I claim:

A button construction for making covered buttons comprising a supportover which a covering material is placed,

said support having an inwardly extending flange about the peripherythereof to form an internal recess within which said covering materialis positioned, a split expansion ring partially receivable in saidrecess to retain the covering material therein, a plate, a U-shapedhinge on the peripheral edge of said plate, and a plurality of spacedapart flanges on said hinge that are urged against said split ring bysaid hinge when said plate is snapped within the confines of saidsupport.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,446,801 Kuckelsberg et al Feb. 27, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 62,626 DenmarkAug. 28, 1944 641,165 Germany Jan. 21, 1937

